Thursday, September 15, 2011

From Ben Tzion the son of the late Rabbi Glixman on the main theme of the Rosh Hashanah Yom Kippur Additional Service before the Kedushah (holiness) http://whoshalllive.com/video.html

I decided to add a neighbor of mine who has been hospitalized and sent home but still can’t make it after 3 weeks to Schul even by car because he is very weak. Eliezer David HaCohain ben Naomi, Moshe Rafael ben Basha and also Rivka Bas Yidit mother of a friend of mine. Refuel Matityahu Yaakov ben Gittel Rivka, Jason Botnick. This Friday, Erev Shabbat Kodesh, iy"h, Jason will be undergoing his bone marrow transplant, b'sha'ah tova umutzlachat. In this regard, we ask that you give an extra "push" for him that day, or beginning Thursday night.

If you have been getting messages from a Maggid Ben Joseph he is a warped missionary: He goes under that name and is really Dell Griffin, a non-Jew playing on potential Converts and weak Jews. The Ben Joseph is for Yeshu ben Yosef and he more or less is trying to start his own cult.

Parsha Ki Savo

26:1And it shall be, when thou art come in unto the land which the LORD thy God gives thee for an inheritance, and dost possess it, and dwell therein;2that thou shalt take of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which thou shalt bring in from thy land that the LORD thy God gives thee; and thou shalt put it in a basket and shalt go unto the place which the LORD thy God shall choose to cause His name to dwell there.

Bikurim the first fruits of the trees from the seven species mentioned in the Torah start at Chag HaShavuos through Sukkos. Each area brought the fruit as it ripened in their section of the country as the Galil being colder than the Judean Desert and Chevron Grapes more in the being of Autumn or at best late Elul/Tishrei.

3And thou shalt come unto the priest that shall be in those days, and say unto him: 'I profess this day unto the LORD thy God, that I am come unto the land which the LORD swore unto our fathers to give us.'

It must be your land not land that roots shot off into the property of the neighbor and nourished from them.

… The following confession/testimony is made before the Cohain. 13then thou shalt say before the LORD thy God: 'I have put away the hallowed things out of my house, and also have given them unto the Levite, and unto the stranger, to the fatherless, and to the widow, according to all Thy commandment which Thou hast commanded me; I have not transgressed any of Thy commandments, neither have I forgotten them.14I have not eaten thereof in my mourning, neither have I put away thereof, being unclean, nor given thereof for the dead; I have hearkened to the voice of the LORD my God, I have done according to all that Thou hast commanded me.15Look forth from Thy holy habitation, from heaven, and bless Thy people Israel, and the land which Thou hast given us, as Thou didst swear unto our fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey.'…

27:1And Moses and the elders of Israel commanded the people, saying: 'Keep all the commandment which I command you this day.2And it shall be on the day when ye shall pass over the Jordan unto the land which the LORD thy God gives thee, that thou shalt set thee up great stones, and plaster them with plaster.3And thou shalt write upon them all the words of this law, when thou art passed over; that thou may go in unto the land which the LORD thy God gives thee, a land flowing with milk and honey, as the LORD, the God of thy fathers, hath promised thee.

From time to time, I will be bringing passages from Sefer Yehoshua and we shall see that this was carried out but since many conquests, the stones were placed but are long gone. Now the land produces a lot of goat and cow milk but the price the farmer gets is very little compared to the cost in the stores. There are plenty of bees and honey in Eretz Yisrael too nowadays but due to our sins we don’t reap the full benefits from the land.

4And it shall be when ye are passed over the Jordan, that ye shall set up these stones, which I command you this day, in mount Eval, and thou shalt plaster them with plaster.5And there shalt thou build an altar unto the LORD thy God, an altar of stones; thou shalt lift up no iron tool upon them.6Thou shalt build the altar of the LORD thy God of unhewn stones; and thou shalt offer burnt-offerings thereon unto the LORD thy God.7And thou shalt sacrifice peace-offerings, and shalt eat there; and thou shalt rejoice before the LORD thy God.8And thou shalt write upon the stones all the words of this law very plainly.'

One could travel to Schem and learn the Torah and set up a Yeshiva there.

9And Moses and the priests the Levites spoke unto all Israel, saying: 'Keep silence, and hear, O Israel; this day thou art become a people unto the LORD thy God.10Thou shalt therefore hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and do His commandments and His statutes, which I command thee this day.'

The main thing that HASHEM requires of us is to obey the Torah!

The tribes were chosen not at random but from the deeds of their fathers on which mountain they would stand. Note that Levi and Yosef are the tribes and not Menashe and Ephraim with the Leviim in the middle with the Cohanim or at least leading the Leviim who are shout/singing in the highest volume Pavarotti voice.

11And Moses charged the people the same day, saying:12'These shall stand upon mount Gerizim to bless the people, when ye are passed over the Jordan: Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Joseph, and Benjamin;13and these shall stand upon mount Eval for the curse: Reuben, Gad, and Asher, and Zevulun, Dan, and Naphtali.14And the Levites shall speak, and say unto all the men of Israel with a loud voice:

15Cursed be the man that makes a graven or molten image, an abomination unto the LORD, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and sets it up in secret. And all the people shall answer and say: Amen.

HASHEM tells us in the 10 sayings that HE is a jealous G-D. Yet I look at the graven images archeologists have uncovered and they are lousy art work and not fearsome or awesome at all! Supposedly the idols were operated by Shaddim or negative formless spiritual beings created after mankind and often mistranslated as demons. They are sort of impish mischief makers who make fools believe in the idol.

16Cursed be he that dishonors his father or his mother. And all the people shall say: Amen.

One who honors his parents is granted a long or longer life and one who dishonors them is cursed. This even includes parents who were abusive as they still have a superior status – all the more so for loving parents.

17Cursed be he that removes his neighbor's landmark. And all the people shall say: Amen.

This is stealing by making a land grab but not one estimated between two neighbors by agreement as that is how things appear and each one grants the other land if there is a mistake.

18Cursed be he that makes the blind to go astray in the way. And all the people shall say: Amen.

There is a separate Mitzvah in Kedoshim against putting a stumbling block before the blind or cursing the deaf. These helpless people can easily be made a joke of therefore the curse. A good hearted person will volunteer to help the blind people or help educate the deaf or speak clearer or with sign language. Although there is no blessing it appears to me that the opposite of all these curses would be a blessing.

19Cursed be he that perverts the justice due to the stranger, fatherless, and widow. And all the people shall say: Amen.

This is not the first time that the Torah demands proper justice for the stranger, orphan or widow but the theme continues through Novi after Novi exhorting Am Yisrael about the orphans and the widow. It is a warning that if you tangle with the widow or the orphan that your kids and wife might soon become orphans and a widow.

20Cursed be he that lies with his father's wife; because he has uncovered his father's skirt. And all the people shall say: Amen.

It was the custom among non-Jewish Kings for the son of the King upon becoming the ruler taking on all the wives except his mother. This was a Canaan practice and immodesty and lewdness are despised by G-D. {What was with Adam and Chava before the sin is not Adam and Chava after the sin.}

21Cursed be he that lies with any manner of beast. And all the people shall say: Amen.

This is forbidden but is so common in certain societies or people in faraway places like the Arab Society or a known fact that Astronomers sent on a grant to Chile would cohabit with sheep there. It is not a matter of uneducated vs. educated but a matter of unnatural vs. natural therefore the curse was placed here. A curse was not on homosexuality for some reason either because it is called abomination already three times in the Torah or it was so rare as people married at puberty and did not have time to develop homosexuality and hence the curse did not go on Homosexuality. Bestiality is between two species and was one of the practices of Sodom.

22Cursed be he that lies with his sister, the daughter of his father, or the daughter of his mother. And all the people shall say: Amen.

Chances are that only half-sisters or brothers are mentioned as it is natural that one would not be so attached to a full sister. I think of the story of Rav Chiya who had either a brother or sister from his father and the opposite sex from his mother but essentially the children were unrelated by blood but related to Rav Chiya. The two married each other but were brother and sister to Rav Chiya.

23Cursed be he that lies with his mother-in-law. And all the people shall say: Amen.

This is horrid behavior.

24Cursed be he that smites his neighbor in secret. And all the people shall say: Amen.

An ambush to either bully the neighbor or to avenge himself on the neighbor in some way and a curse might prevent fights in Israel.

25Cursed be he that takes a bribe to slay an innocent person. And all the people shall say: Amen.

The Torah then goes on to warn against bribes and false witnesses. Perversion of Justice can be compared to afflicting the blind, orphan and widow.

26Cursed be he that confirmeth not the words of this law to do them. And all the people shall say: Amen.'

Just in case you thought that Mitzvos left out of the curses like Homosexuality being bad exempts it from something, this general one covers all the rest of Mitzvos in the Torah.

Now for the blessings and curses: 28:1And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all His commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all the nations of the earth.2And all these blessings shall come upon thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God.3Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field.4Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy land, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the young of thy flock.5Blessed shall be thy basket and thy kneading-trough.6Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out.7The LORD will cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thee; they shall come out against thee one way, and shall flee before thee seven ways.8The LORD will command the blessing with thee in thy barns, and in all that thou puttest thy hand unto; and He will bless thee in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.9The LORD will establish thee for a holy people unto Himself, as He hath sworn unto thee; if thou shalt keep the commandments of the LORD thy God, and walk in His ways.10And all the peoples of the earth shall see that the name of the LORD is called upon thee; and they shall be afraid of thee.

"Rabbi Elijah Kramer of Vilna", called out the bailiff, "You stand accused of assisting John the Christian in abandoning the faith of his fathers to join your inferior Jewish superstitions!" The bailiff awaited the rabbi's reply, but only received silence. The Rabbi, wrapped in his Tefillin (phylacteries) and covered with his Tallit, was totally immersed in the book open before him and did not make any effort to reply. At every point in the case, the tribunal requested a reply, but the rabbi totally ignored the proceedings. "Another year in Siberia for contempt of court!" they proclaimed, yet the rabbi kept on perusing his book.

The tension rose, as the sentence was about to be read. The disciples informed their rabbi, "Our master, you must do something right away or we may never see you again!" The rabbi then proceeded to uncover the Tefillin that were covered by his Tallit, and suddenly a great trembling reverberated throughout the courtroom. The tribunal members shook from fear, immediately adjourned the court, and told the rabbi he was free to go. This story about the Vilna Gaon is based on a verse in our Parsha which states, "All the nations will see that God's name is called upon you and will fear you" (Deut. 28:10). The Talmud states that this refers to the Tefillin of the head. (Of course it probably would not work for us, as one has to be in touch with the spiritual qualities of the Tefillin and not act and feel like many of us, as if it was a potato on one's head!)

In Ki Savo, Moses concludes the transmission of the 613 Mitzvos and begins the final section of Deuteronomy, Moses' farewell to his people. He places before them possible blessings and curses, and in broad strokes depicts what will occur if they fulfill the Torah (and if they do not). For the second time (the first being in Leviticus, Parshas Bechukotai), the Torah depicts the pain and suffering that will be the Jewish people's lot for forsaking the Torah. Nachmanides points out that the first rebuke refers specifically to the destruction of the First Temple, while our Parsha is referring to the Second Temple. However, between the lines are hints of all Jewish suffering up to and including the Holocaust (and beyond). The Parsha begins with two laws, the first fruits and the second tithe. http://www.aish.com/print/?contentID=48953901&section=/tp/i/ky

11And the LORD will make thee over-abundant for good, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy land, in the land which the LORD swore unto thy fathers to give thee.12The LORD will open unto thee His good treasure the heaven to give the rain of thy land in its season, and to bless all the work of thy hand; and thou shalt lend unto many nations, but thou shalt not borrow.13And the LORD will make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if thou shalt hearken unto the commandments of the LORD thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them;14and shalt not turn aside from any of the words which I command you this day, to the right hand, or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.…

29:69These are the words of the covenant which the LORD commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab, beside the covenant which He made with them in Horeb.

What a Jewish Leader should display unto the people:

29:1And Moses called unto all Israel, and said unto them: Ye have seen all that the LORD did before your eyes in the land of Egypt unto Pharaoh, and unto all his servants, and unto all his land;2the great trials which your eyes saw, the signs and those great wonders;3but the LORD hath not given you a heart to know, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto this day.4And I have led you forty years in the wilderness; your clothes are not waxen old upon you, and thy shoe is not waxen old upon thy foot.

Hey Darling, “What’s the news?” “I need some new dresses and a new pair of shoes!” 40 years no warn out material – a pure miracle. Also I don’t know how many of you have warn woolen garments or skin garments for a few days, a week but 40 years without stinking the whole Sinai Peninsula up is also amazing!

5Ye have not eaten bread, neither have ye drunk wine or strong drink; that ye might know that I am the LORD your God.

No grain, no whiskey, no potatoes no vodka and perhaps no wine. G-D supplied us with all our needs through the Mann in the wilderness.

6And when ye came unto this place, Sihon the king of Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, came out against us unto battle, and we smote them.

They were mighty and powerful kings and held the high land.

7And we took their land, and gave it for an inheritance unto the Reubenites, and to the Gadites, and to the half-tribe of the Manassites.8Observe therefore the words of this covenant, and do them, that ye may make all that ye do to prosper.

This last sentence says it all. If you want to prosper both in this world and the next then observe the Mitzvos.

Halacha from Danny Schoemann

Some people have the custom to get their Tefillin and Mezuzos checked yearly during the month of Elul. At the very least one should check one's Mezuzos twice every 7 years.Tefillin that are used daily do not need to be checked unless they get wet. However, one should check them every few years since they do wear out eventually. Tefillin that are only used occasionally should be checked twice every 7 years. Source: Kitzur Shulchan Aruch 128:3, 11:25, 10:26

Vinegar made from non-Kosher wine or grape juice is not Kosher. Vinegar made from Kosher wine or grape juice that was not boiled, can still become non-Kosher if a non-Jew touches it, unless it's so strong that it bubbles when poured onto the ground. On Shabbat it's forbidden to add liquids into vinegar with the intent of making more vinegar.Source: Kitzur Shulchan Aruch 80:56, 47:10

During Elul one gets ready for the upcoming Days of Judgement (Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur) with a three-pronged approach:Teshuva; repenting. Improving one's Mitzva observance.Tefilla; praying. Asking Hashem for help and praising and thanking Him for being good to us.Tzeduka; giving charity to those less fortunate than ourselves.In order to pray properly one needs to understand what one is saying. If one is not fluent in Hebrew, one should get a Siddur and Machzor with an English translation. One should remember that one is praying - talking - to the One Above. If one's thoughts wander during prayers one should pause and recollect one's thoughts. Source: Kitzur Shulchan Aruch 18: 3-4.

On Sukkoth there's a Mitzvah to shake the four species; a Lulav, 3 Hadasim, 2 Aravos and an Esrog. The Esrog is a citron; Citrus Medica. It is held in one's left hand when shaking the four species, with the stem (where it was cut off the tree) facing downwards. By nature the Esrog tree is very soft (mine buckled during a light Jerusalem snow storm), therefore it is often grafted onto other trees to make it stronger. An Esrog from a grafted tree cannot be used when shaking the four species. (Grafted fruit is Kosher to eat, despite the prohibition against grafting trees.) The Esrog needs to be whole; scratches and dents may invalidate it.The Esrog should not have dark dots on it, though it may have light scabs that are a result of leaves and thorns brushing against it while it grows. (Esrog trees have thorns that grow to about 2" long.) The "nose" of the Esrog - from where it starts getting narrow - should be perfectly clean. Source: Kitzur Shulchan Aruch 174:2, Shulchan Aruch 648

On Sukkoth there's a Mitzvah to shake the four species; a Lulav, 3 Hadasim, 2 Aravos and an Esrog. Each Hadas is a branch of a myrtle bush, and must be at least 3 Tefachim (24 cm - 10") long. Myrtle leaves grow on the stem in groups of three or more. A Kosher Hadas needs to be Meshulash; (Three leaves on each of the three Hadasim for at least 20 cm length to be Mehuda or highest quality)with each group of leaves growing out of the branch at exactly the same height. Preferably the Hadas should be Meshulash its entire length, though it's Kosher if only the top half is Meshulash. The entire Hadas needs to be covered in leaves, the top of the lower leaves must reach the bottom of the higher ones. Myrtle bushes have berries growing on them. A Hadas should not have any berries on it; berries should be removed (with their stems) before Yom Tov. Make sure that the top of the Hadas is not cut off, it usually ends in a set of tiny leaves. Hadasim need to be kept fresh; dried out Hadasim are not Kosher. Source: Shulchan Aruch 646.

On Sukkoth there's a Mitzvah to shake the four species; a Lulav, 3 Hadasim, 2 Aravos and an Esrog. The Arava comes from a known type of willow tree with long leaves, non-serrated edges, and its bough turns red when mature. The Arava must be at least 3 Tefachim (24 cm - 10") long. If possible one should get Aravos from a tree that grows alongside a river. Willows dry up very quickly. A wilted Arava is not Kosher. Some say that once its leaves start drooping it is not fresh enough to be a Kosher Arava. Many have the Minchag to get fresh Aravos every day of Chol HaMoed Sukkoth. An Arava is no longer Kosher if most of its leaves have come off, or it’s cut off. This can happen if they are wilted, have been shaken too hard or while replacing them. Source: Kitzur Shulchan Aruch 136:5, 6, 7 and 137:6

One does not shake the four species on Shabbat. The Lulav, Hadasim and Aravos are Muktza on Shabbat. The Esrog is not Muktza and one may smell it on Shabbat - after making the Bracha of:בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה' אֱלקֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָםהַנּוֹתֵן רֵיחַ טוֹב בַּפֵּרוֹת

On the other days of Sukkoth one should not smell the Esrog. One should not smell the Hadasim during the entire 7 days of Sukkoth. An Esrog may be returned to its wrapping on Shabbat and Yom Tov, but may not be wrapped in a new wrapper - since the wrapper will absorb the aroma of the Esrog - and one may not add aroma to materials on Shabbat and Yom Tov. Source: Kitzur Shulchan Aruch 137:7 Shabbat Shalom - DannyOne who has the custom to smell Hadasim on Shabbos should use a different set or a non-Meshulash Set.

Most Ashkenazim have the custom of the wife taking the Lulav and Esrog and making the blessing over it. Moroccan Jewish woman have the custom of waving it but not necessarily other Sephardim.

Sefer Yehoshua Chapter 1 as I explained Pshat to my 7 year old grandson

1:1Now it came to pass after the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, that the LORD spoke unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' minister, saying:2'Moses My servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel.

The Hebrew is stronger Moshe, MY slave, is dead. While Yehoshua is just a ministering fellow to a Talmid Chacham (Torah Scholar) but from his job as a voluntary servant; he becomes virtually a king over the Bnei Yisrael. Moshe did not enter Eretz Yisrael (land of Israel) but by being the commander of the army, you have prepared them now to enter Eretz Yisrael.

3Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, to you have I given it, as I spoke unto Moses.

Where the army of Israel conquers becomes part of Eretz Yisrael.

4From the wilderness, and this Lebanon, even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your border.

All of Lebanon and all of Syria all the way up to the Iraqi Border should be part of Eretz Yisrael – why Yehoshua Bin Nun did not conquer this may be because of the years going by and his life coming to an end. Our Sages say that his life was cut short by 10 years because he did the conquering slowly. Here in this Pasuk we have two directions one is the west where the sun sets and one is the northern border of Eretz Yisrael. Yehoshua at this point is in the area of the east. (At this point I confirmed that my grandson understood the concept of the four directions)

5There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee; I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.

Wow what a guarantee that HASHEM makes to Yehoshua 1) HASHEM will be with Yehoshua just like HE was with Moshe 2) HASHEM will not fail Yehoshua 3) HASHEM will not forsake Yehoshua. Can you imagine anybody deserving to receive such a blessing today?

6Be strong and of good courage; for thou shalt cause this people to inherit the land which I swore unto their fathers to give them.

This is a continuation from Devarim where both Moshe and HASHEM through Moshe Chazak v’Amatz (Be strong and of good courage) and now I am making MY vow come true that I swore to Avraham, Yitzchak and Yacov regarding inheriting the land of Israel.

7Only be strong and very courageous, to observe to do according to all the law, which Moses My servant commanded thee; turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou may have good success whithersoever thou go.

Again a second time Chazak v’Amatz and one must fully obey the L-RD.

8This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth, but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou may observe to do according to all that is written therein; for then thou shalt make thy ways prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.

You must obey the Torah and do all the Mitzvos in the Torah and keep the Torah on your lips, in your heart all your life.

9Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of good courage; be not affrighted, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou go.'

To go to war is a scary thing with the noise of the battle and the swords and arrows therefore for the third time Chazak v’Amatz.HASHEM ELOKIM is with you all the time so there is absolutely positively nothing to fear at all. Nothing!

10Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying:11'Pass through the midst of the camp, and command the people, saying: Prepare you victuals; for within three days ye are to pass over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land, which the LORD your God gives you to possess it.'

This is a 3 day time period to prepare the army for war for conquering Eretz Yisrael.

12And to the Reubenites, and to the Gadites, and to the half-tribe of Manasseh, spoke Joshua, saying:13'Remember the word which Moses the servant of the LORD commanded, you, saying: The LORD your God gives you rest, and will give you this land.14Your wives, your little ones, and your cattle, shall abide in the land which Moses gave you beyond the Jordan; but ye shall pass over before your brethren armed, all the mighty men of valor, and shall help them;15until the LORD have given your brethren rest, as unto you, and they also have possessed the land which the LORD your God gives them; then ye shall return unto the land of your possession, and possess it, which Moses the servant of the LORD gave you beyond the Jordan toward the sunrising.'

When G-D gave them their land in the Golan Heights and across the Yarden River, they swore an oath unto Moshe that they would fight with their brothers.

16And they answered Joshua, saying: 'All that thou hast commanded us we will do, and whithersoever thou send us we will go.17According as we hearkened unto Moses in all things, so will we hearken unto thee; only the LORD thy God be with thee, as He was with Moses.18Whosoever he be that shall rebel against thy commandment, and shall not hearken unto thy words in all that thou command him, he shall be put to death; only be strong and of good courage.'

They promise to be true to their word and now for the fourth time: only be strong and of good courage!

Heaven Help Me, I landed on a crazy planet full of crazy people.

Many years ago I was on the planet earth where people were G-D fearing honest people. But when I looked at the planet that I am living on now, I came to the conclusion this is not the down to earth planet where I wanted to repent during Elul. It all started when one night I opened the news and the government of this planet was allowing illegal Bedouin building in the Negev and destroying Houses of Yehudim in Yehuda and the Shomron.

I was beginning to try to see if I had enough rocket fuel to get back to the earth I came from. This planet was run by madmen. A woman changed her sex to be married not to another woman but to be a homosexual male relationship. On top of that she now he was the first Israeli male pregnantdue to the fact that he/she has a womb. I landed in this madhouse where instead of a woman marrying a male - a transsexual woman now male marrying a male. Being Elul, I asked HASHEM to forgive me for landing on this mad world. I asked HIM to keep me sane. Then I fled to a place where the men were men and women were women but instead of being normal they are planning to go down to Sodom or nearby this Shabbos to strip nude for a photograph.

Then another mad man went looking to make war in the air and on the sea in order to help terrorists and to make himself into a Sultan. Other madmen were shooting off Kassams. And the maddest of men helping Al Qaeda take over Libya for a base to be used against themselves and their own people.

So I found some people who thought like me that were my age but they were not observing Shabbos and Kashrus and were perhaps too old to think about Taharos HaMishpacha according to the Halacha. I cried this is Elul the month of Rachamim (Compassion) HASHEM forgive them as they were born on a crazy planet and were the sanest group around.

Finally, I fled to the Synagogue and the Beis Medrash and just shook my head but was too exhausted from shock and bewilderment to pray with fervor. Sudden I began hearing voices HOLY, HOLY, HOLY IS THE L-RD OF HOSTS THE WHOLE EARTH IS FILLED WITH HIS GLORY. Then suddenly a great strong noise came and yelled BLESSED BE THE L-RD FROM HIS PLACE. So I said to myself THE LORD SHALL REIGN FOR EVER AND EVER. I felt faint and walked three steps backwards and then I hear. HASHEM WILL GIVE STRENGTH UNTO HIS PEOPLE HASHEM WILL BLESS HIS PEOPLE WITH PEACE.

Somehow I just got a ray of hope for this madhouse as I dreamt that there was hope and soon a day will come: Yeshayahu 25:9 And it shall be said in that day: 'Lo, this is our God, for whom we waited, that He might save us; this is the LORD, for whom we waited, we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation.' Zachariah 14:8 And it shall come to pass in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem: half of them toward the eastern sea, and half of them toward the western sea; in summer and in winter shall it be. 9 And the LORD shall be King over all the earth; in that day shall the LORD be One, and His name one.

Then Don Quixote Pauli perhaps the mad planet was only a dream. Sancho then said “The Quest to save Am Yisrael and bring about the Moshiach and the make the planet sane again” I said perhaps it was not a dream perhaps people will do Teshuva in Elul, Tzeduka by money and physically helping the sick, comforting mourners, aiding the elderly and volunteering to make the world a better place and praying for sanity to return to this planet.

The L-RD is my psychiatrist; I shall stay sane after walking on this crazy planet. HE has prepared victuals for me in the presence of my enemies and Yetzer. HE restores my soul. Somehow by a miracle goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the House of The L-RD forever!

Elul A Time for Reflection and to Count Your Blessings

One of the people on the prayer list just had a massive stroke. I began to reflect back Feb. 15, 1954. On that day my grandmother, only sixty, suffered a massive cerebral hemorrhage and never regained consciousness and passed away on Feb. 18th. I began to reflect how charity saves from death. I have always been big about being charitable since I became religious. Two years ago essentially two miracles occurred for me. First that when I was working out in the gym that my pulse rate was crazy and super high without being energetic so I went to emergency clinic and was found to be undergoing fibrillations. There was an immediate danger of a stroke as blood could clot in my heart and then get pumped into the brain closing off the oxygen supply. Since my grandmother had one despite low blood pressure, I think that I finally discovered the cause. But that was not enough, at the hospital after taking blood thinner. They tried to reboot the heart to stop the fibrillation like one sees on the TV shows with the shocker. It had failed to reverse the problem so I was rescheduled for after Yom Kippur. On Yom Kippur I prayed head and beat my breast about 800 times with all my sins. When I got to the hospital, the doctor said, “I cannot reboot your heart to get you out of fibrillation. I said is this a joke and why? She said that the heart had returned to a sinusoidal rhythm. I am sure that I am not the only one to be blessed by HASHEM to be alive at this season one just has to reflect.

We must pray for our improvement spiritually and work at it too but we must give thanks for our physical wellbeing on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

Let's remove 8 zeros and pretend it's a household budget:

Annual family income: $21,700.Money the family spent: $38,200.New debt on the credit card: $16,500.Outstanding balance on the credit card: $142,710Total budget cuts: $385.…Does this clarify it?

An oldie but appropriate regarding Egypt: IS THE WORLD FINALLY AWAKENING TO TERROR THREATS? By Emanuel A. Winston October 12, 2006 Freeman Center For Strategic Studies Forwarded by Gail Winston, Mid East Analyst & Commentator

IS THE WORLD FINALLY AWAKENING TO TERROR THREATS? By Emanuel A. Winston, OCTOBER 12. 2006 Research Associate & Member of the Board of Directors, Freeman Center For Strategic Studies

Is Christianity first awakening Europe and America to the threat to their very existence? Pope Benedict XVI made his thoughts plain when he quoted a 14th century Orthodox Byzantine Emperor who spoke of Mohammed committed to things evil and inhuman. This German Pope is no fool and does not make slips of his tongue. He sees an encroaching Islam with all of its killing ways so he issued a modest wake-up call to Europe.

He knew it would enrage the radical Muslims but, then he downplayed it - without abandoning his meaning. This article started to be drafted Tuesday night October 10th, only to find the NEW YORK TIMES of October 11th had beaten me to it. I was astonished that the NYT had the guts to speak about the awakening of Europe as to the threat of violent Islam in their midst.

The fear that they thought they had pushed way down deep in their gut was surfacing. The intolerance of Islam - even to their own people and especially toward their women, the killings, the threats if one dared to mention Mohammed or the excesses of Islam suddenly bubbled up as anger.

The Europeans free society was being taken from them by the Muslims who were destroying their hospitable host countries. Everywhere they turned, Islam was impinging on the Europeans’ lives. Schools were filling up with Muslim children. Hospitals with a charity policy were filling up with Muslims, bankrupting host countries’ systems. The worst was their ever-present threats of violence.

Mention Mohammed or the "Jihadists" (fighters for Islam) and suddenly writers of truth had to go into hiding for fear of their lives.Even politicians feared they would be assassinated by an unknown Muslim striking out from the anonymity of the crowds. (Which brings to mind Sirhan Sirhan, the Muslim who shot Bobby Kennedy.)BLIND SHEIK OMAR ABDEL-RAHMAN

Now that I think about the blind Sheik, Omar Abdel-Rahman who organized the first hit at the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers in 1993 - the first time, and his plans to have his American "Jihadists" blow up the United Nations, Holland, Lincoln Tunnels, the George Washington Bridge, the FBI building. Government videotapes showed defendants mixing bomb ingredients in a garage before their arrest in 1993.

Detective John Molelli found & examined boxes of notebooks and other papers written in Arabic, complete with diagrams that revealed the existence of a terrorist cell operating in the New Jersey-New York area. Police found photos of the Twin Towers, the Empire State Building and the Washington Monument. They also found written materials promoting terror attacks on American soil. He broke his silence on the fifth anniversary of 9/11/01. The FBI ignored the evidence - until the 1993 terror attacks on the Twin Towers. Nosair continued to manage the affairs of the al-Qaeda terror cell where Nosair completed the job it attempted on September 11, 2001 (1)

One of the Sheik's "Jihadists", El Sayyid A. Nosair assassinated Rabbi Meir Kahane, z’l November 5,1990. IF only the FBI had bothered to read the writings in Arabic they found in Nosair’s apartment, they would have known about their plans to bomb sites in America and could have prevented the 1993 Twin Towers bombing and perhaps even 9/11/01. But, no one was smart or skilled enough to seriously investigate the growing, insidious plots growing from the sleeper cells of Muslims.[Note! I wrote an article July 1993: "Rabbi Kahane’s Murder...CIA - State Dept - Saudi Arabia - Sheik Abdel Rahman & the World Trade Center Bombing"] (2)

In 1997 members of Abdel-Rahman’s group, Al-Gama’a al-Islamiyya massacred 58 tourists at Deir el-Bahri in Luxor, Egypt. Abdel-Rahman’s imprisonment was a rallying point for Islamic militants around the world, including Al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden. (3)

The Sheik’s actions lead straight to the ease with which 4 Egyptians and 15 Saudis entered America, hijacked airplanes, bombed and destroyed almost 3,000 civilians on 9/11. No one in the FBI, CIA, NSA or any other agency ‘Mustn’t investigate or arrest any Muslim, lest the Saudis get mad.’dared to investigate - thanks to the terrorists’ hidden protectors in the U.S. State Department:BTW, this was NOT part of the New York Times lengthy article which I urge you to read in full. Perhaps as the flagship journals of America, the rest of the media will follow suit and cease ignoring this growing menace. Here we must include CNN, FOX NEWS, the BBC, NPR and other leading news outlets. Terrorists are not "militants" or "insurgents" or "extremists" - in spite of the self-imposed word restraint adopted by the Media. The word is "Terrorist" and cannot be avoided by artful denial and spin.

PUNISHMENT BY APPEASEMENT

The Free West would do well to look back in history (as illustrated in the few paragraphs above) with respect to confronting Muslims when they rose up to riot. Even up to this very moment, the response of the West has been to bluster, pontificate and blow smoke but, NOT to confront their Muslim attackers directly.

There are some reasons why the West doesn’t respond harshly when the "Jihadists" cross all red lines. The West is a collection of advanced civilizations whose laws rose in parallel to what is expected of advanced civilizations. The problem is that radical Islamists do not consider our laws (dedicated to freedom and democracy or the customs we live by) apply to them. They play by their own rules and our response in terms of punishment is to appease the perpetrators.

I recall an incident in the Middle East when the British had control. One of their officers was attacked and killed by Arabs from a nearby village. The British officer in charge attacked and leveled that village. All terror ceased - because the British played by the rules which the Arabs had established.

Regrettably, that direct solution has long since been abandoned and punishment is by appeasement. So today the world demands that the victim accept the blow and, at most, they can only retaliate if they specifically know the actual perpetrator and, only then, may a surgical strike be considered.

If we had followed those rules during WW2, we would still be fighting Germany and Japan. Wars are fought down through every level of the population.

In America and Europe soldiers are trained from age 18. Not so among the Arabs where children starting at 3 years old are taught to hate. By 7 they are field-stripping weapons, carrying explosives and crawling under barbed wire at summer camp. By 12 to 16 they are being prepared to meet Allah by wearing an explosive belt.

Parent, old grandmothers, local teachers, village elders, Imams, Mullahs and Ayatollahs are all part of it to one degree or another. Rules of combat, rules of war...there are none - except for the inner restraint of the West. The Free Western countries pride themselves in their developed rules of conduct - as well it should.

But, how many of our people are to be sacrificed on an altar the dead cannot care about. We meet savagery with not punishment to stop the carnage by with appeasement. We talk them to death while they stab or bomb us to death.

Israel was supposed to fight a sanitized war because the United Nations, Europe and America demanded it. IF Israel dares to respond in kind and to fight to win, she was accused of excess when restraint was demanded.

When Hezb’Allah and Hamas rained Katyusha Missiles and Kassem Rockets down on cities, towns, killing civilians and burning forests, the world was more concerned with the severity of Israel’s retaliatory bombing and her use of area denial cluster bombs. "Area denial" means exactly that. Whole areas were to be made too dangerous for Hezb’Allah to return to in Southern Lebanon.

Israel was stopped too soon - by the world and by her inept and corrupt current government. Now Hezb’Allah is re-occupying the hidden bunkers as Syria keeps shipping a hefty re-supply of rockets and the U.N., America and Europe were absolutely silent. They accepted the rules of the barbarians’ war because it was Israel who was fighting the world’s ethical battle. However, soon all Europe will be fighting this war and then they must make a choice. Fight with your hands tied while your Muslim opponents may use any weapons of their choice - including WMD (Weapons of Mass Destruction) like NBC: Nuclear, Biological, Chemical and Radiological (dirty bombs). The Muslims has also chosen to use the laws made for a civilized society while cheating those rules.

The Muslim barbarians also have a rule of sorts - Kill until he is killed. Only then will he stop - except for the 3 year old he taught to hate who is to follow like a ticking time bomb in the years to come.

No one can be absolved nor spared because this is a war of civilization against the barbarians. They base their Army of Terrorists in the participating nest of civilian women and children and those civilians become an integral support mechanism for the Islamic "Jihadists". They are literally putting their own women and children on the war front as blood sacrifices. The Terrorists are responsible, if the civilians with whom they have hidden with their explosives and ammunition are hit, hurt or killed - except when it is all done, backed by this not-so-innocent population.

Their outgoing shells are also NOT selective because, as intended, they kill families and spare no one. The velvet glove "Rules of War" must, for a time be put aside. In a war initiated by an enemy with no pity, the perpetrators are NOT innocents. Hopefully, the Pope’s message will awaken, not only Europe but also America.

ISRAELI EMBASSY BREAK-IN LED BY JAM'A aL-ISLAMIYA OF NY 1993 BOMBING

In first new disclosures on the storming of Israel's Cairo embassy which started Friday night, Sept. 9, debkafile's counter-terror sources reveal that the mob was led by the terrorist Jama'a al-Islamiya, the Egyptian founding branch of Al Qaeda, and two other radical Egyptian Islamist groups.

The February 1993 car bombing of the World Trade Center of New York, which was the forerunner of the Sept. 11, 2001 atrocities, was an early Jama'a operation under the al Qaeda label.

Closely linked to Osama bin Laden's successor, Ayman al Zawahri, Jama'a al-Islamiya is now running for election in post-Mubarak Egypt.Its mentor is the "blind sheikh" Omar Abdel Rahman, who is serving a life sentence for masterminding the first World Trade Center bombing. Jama'a adherents stormed the Israeli embassy Friday night along with activists of the Muslim Brotherhood and the Egyptian Students April 6 Movement.debkafile's intelligence sources also reveal that Egyptian security forces delayed for eight hours before tackling the mob smashing into the embassy building and rampaging inside – even after US Ambassador Anne Patterson interceded on behalf of the six Israel security officers barricaded in the embassy's security room as the rabble battered on its steel door.

She acted to save their lives on direct orders from President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton after Ambassador Yitzhak Levanon and 80 members of staff and families had been collected from their homes and lifted out of Egypt by two Israeli military planes.The Egyptian authorities only tackled the mob when violent groups broke into police headquarters in the upscale Giza district, stripped the gunroom and shared the weapons among themselves before returning to the street. Before that, the local police stood by and watched them sacking and burning the embassy without moving.

Scared of the rioters, the Egyptian commandos ordered to rescue the six Israelis under threat of lynch, discarded their uniforms and mingled with the crowd. When they reached the locked room, they were unable to open the steel door. The head of Egyptian unit had to find the Israeli Shin Bet director Yoram Cohen, who was in urgent conference with Israel's national leaders in the situation room, to obtain the code.

They then dressed the six Israelis like typical Egyptians and hustled them to safety past a throng of 40,000 howling for Israeli blood.

During the embassy attack until early Saturday Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu tried unsuccessfully to raise Field Marshall Mohammed Tantawi, head of the Supreme Military Council ruling Egypt, on the phone. Tantawi refused to take his calls.

Defense Minister Ehud Barak kept open lines to US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta in Washington and Egyptian intelligence chief Gen. Murad Muwafi in Cairo. At some point, Panetta was patched through to Muwafi through Jerusalem.*****

Now for M. Wolfberg’s “Remembrance”

Good Shabbos Everyone.The Torah tells us this week, "For Hashem, your G-d walks in the midst of your camp to rescue you and to deliver your enemies before you; therefore, your camp should be holy, in that He (Hashem) should not see an immodest thing among you [causing Him] to turn away from you." From this verse we see that the success of the Jewish people is largely based on their modesty.What is modesty? The Jewish concept of modesty can be defined as: dressing and acting in a way to cover that which should not be displayed to others.The last 80 or so years has seen a steady decline of modesty in America. Revealing modes of dress, public displays of affection and foul language which until recent history were the sign of a person with low moral character, are now flaunted both in the media and on the streets of America. There seems to be a contest in society to see who low America can go.We must understand that this behavior is contrary to Jewish ideals. Any Jew wishing to protect his spirituality and the spirituality of his family, must distant himself from these modern trends of immodesty. The following amazing true story illustrates one young Jewish girl's struggles to remain modest during one of the most trying times in our recent history.In October 1938, the hatred that the German populace had for Jews boiled like a hot cauldron on a raging fire. The German SS indiscriminately dragged Jews off the streets or from their homes, humiliated them and carted many off to slave labor camps, where torture and cruel death often awaited them.R' Dovid Tzvi Cohen and his wife Sorah Zisel lived with their four children on Linien Strasse in the Jewish district of Berlin. Shops and stores owned by Jews lined the streets of the district, and dozens of shuls  many of them architecturally beautiful  were spread throughout the area.The Cohens, who lived on the second floor of an apartment building, had friendly relations with their German gentile neighbors, particularly the Reinmann family, who lived on the third floor.On Thursday morning, November 10,1938, Frau (Mrs.) Reinmann came downstairs and said to the Cohens with urgency, "I hear there is going to be a pogrom and it may even be today. You would be safer if you left this neighborhood for now." The Cohens had also heard rumors to that effect, but who could know which threat was real and which was not?Frau Reinmann assured them that she had her information from reliable sources. Unbeknownst to the Cohens and most Jews, the night before at 11:55 p.m., Gestapo Chief Heinrich Mueller had sent a telegram to all police units ordering them not to interfere with actions that would be taking place against all Jews, especially their synagogues. Fire companies were instructed not to protect the synagogues but to make sure that the flames did not spread to Aryan property.Believing that Frau Reinmann may be correct, the Cohens decided to act at once and flee with their children to the other side of town, to the home of Mrs. Cohen's parents, Dovid Shaye and Braindel Shankal on Elsasser Strasse where few Jewish families resided. Surely it would be safer there to weather a possible storm of violence.The Cohen's 12-year-old daughter Esther asked her parents if she could come to her grandparents an hour later. She wanted to finish her homework and she had all her books at home. Esther was a feisty child and her parents trusted her instincts. She knew the route to her grandparents' home and assured her parents she would be there as soon as possible.The Cohens left with their three other children as Esther remained home alone. Within an hour, Esther heard wild screaming and rioting. She ran to a window facing the street and saw a mob of what seemed like a thousand people rampaging down Linien Strasse, roaring in piercing maniacal voices at the top of their lungs, "Get the Jews! Kill the Jews!"She watched in terror as pandemonium reigned. The mob smashed windows, looted stores, threw rocks, hurled insults, and threatened the lives of Jews anywhere and everywhere throughout the Reich. Frau Reinmann was right. This was a pogrom of the worst order.Esther knew she could not remain in the building for if she were found her life would be in danger. She was trapped. Trembling and isolated, she tried to devise a plan to save herself.Esther began reciting any Tehillim she knew by heart, all the while thinking desperately of a plan of escape. She was often told that she didn't look Jewish because of her fair skin and blonde hair. Perhaps now she could use that to her advantage. She tousled her hair and combed it the way the German girls in the Hitler Youth Association did. She looked into a mirror and was revolted at what she saw.She was afraid, though, that it still wasn't enough of a decoy. She adjusted her jacket and clothes in a provocative way, so that no one could imagine she was an Orthodox Jewish girl. She hated dressing that way. She felt cheapened and degraded, but there was no choice. Her life hung in the balance.She decided she would go outside and walk nonchalantly, hoping no one would suspect she was Jewish, for logically no Jewish girl in her right mind would brazenly walk among such an anti-Semitic mob. With the words of Tehillim on her lips, she reached up to kiss the mezuzah as she left her apartment. "Ribono Shel Olam, please save me," she whispered softly.As she walked down the stairs in the hallway she suddenly remembered an expression she often heard from her mother, "Ahfilu fahr dee feer vent, darf mehn zich shemmen." ("Even for the four walls [in a home] one should feel shame.") Her mother meant to convey the message that tznius (modesty) was a code of behavior that was required even in the privacy of one's home. She was startled that those words would come to her just now. She rationalized that she had to look like "them" to spare her life. Surely her mother would understand and even encourage her behavior.But now, in the empty darkened hallway she was having doubts. Perhaps this was a message from Above. Esther decided that come what may, she would not go out the way she was dressed. She re-buttoned her blouse to her neck, tucked it into her skirt and straightened the collar of her jacket, but kept her hair tousled.As she walked out into the street the noise burst at her with a crescendo. She mumbled more words of Tehillim, making sure, however, that no one realized she was praying. The yelling and screaming of the mob was deafening. She walked hesitantly, checking to see if the horde had reached her grandmother's fabric store on the first floor of their apartment building. (They had not reached it yet, but later the shop was looted and ransacked.)She walked as quickly as she could, avoiding eye contact with anyone. She tried to keep to the middle of the street, away from the flying glass and swinging clubs that smashed into every Jewish window in sight. She tried not to panic as her mouth went dry from fear.In 10 minutes, that seemed like ten days, she was past the mob. As soon as she was sure she wasn't being observed, she began to run as fast as she could.When she came to her grandparents' home, she knocked on the door rapidly. Her heart was beating wildly as she waited for a response. Did her parents make it? Had the Nazis come here earlier? Was anyone home? The door opened and she ran right past her sister into her mother's arms and wept uncontrollably. The emotion and tension of the last hour burst forth in a torrent of tears. At first she could not speak, but kept looking back at the door, hoping she had not been followed. Then slowly, between sighs and sobs, she told her anxious parents and grandparents about her frightful experience.When she finished, Mrs. Cohen took Esther's face in her hands and said softly, "Don't you realize my child, you saved your own life?" Esther was bewildered. "Esther," her mother said again, "look, you are wearing your gold necklace with a Mogen Dovid on it. Had you left your buttons open, the Mogen Dovid would have identified you as a Jew. Your mitzvah protected you without your even knowing it." Reflections of the Maggid, Reb Paysach Krohn, p. 32)Although the Germans murdered her parents and most of her family in the holocaust, Esther Cohen, now Mrs. Esther Biller survived the war, later moving to Monsey, New York, where she lives today with her husband Reb Kalman Yakov Biller, he should live and be well. Mrs. Biller and her husband, who also lost his family in the war, have taken revenge on the Germans in the best way possible; namely, by being the grandparents and great-grandparents to probably over 25 minyanim (25 x 10 bli eyn horah) of G-d-fearing Torah observant Jews, including the author of this weekly's wife.Let us remember this story and remember that our holiness and success as a Nation depend on hiding that which must be hidden. Good Shabbos Everyone.